Heavy metal band Metallica’s James Hetfield explained to the audience at a recent show why he doesn’t make political statements during performances, according to music outlet amass. His remark — “We’re not here to influence you over something trivial” — spread online, and a thread on 5ch’s Geisports Sokuho+ board debated its relation to free speech, whether it’s right for overseas artists to avoid political statements, and the history of Metallica’s songs being used in military operations.
Metallica Tells Audience Why They Don’t Give Political Speeches During Shows: “We’re Not Here to Influence You Over Something Trivial” – amass
James Hetfield – Metallica
Metallica’s James Hetfield told the audience at a recent live show why the band doesn’t give political speeches during performances. He plainly stated his belief that Metallica takes the stage purely to entertain the audience and has no intention of doing anything beyond that.
Starting to feel like China lol. No freedom of speech here anymore?
15AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:39
Re: #2 Freedom of speech doesn't mean you get to annoy anyone, anywhere, anytime. Same way having the freedom to use the bathroom doesn't mean you can do it wherever you want.
3AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:32
Wasn't Metallica almost dragged into politics once before?
28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:43
Re: #3 Their songs got used in a military operation.
4AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:33
He didn't have to bring it up at all — so does him saying it mean the peanut gallery's been getting loud about it?
34AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:46
Re: #4 Their influence is massive, so both sides probably try to pull them in. Still, way healthier than Japan lately, where dumb celebrities bring up politics just to grab attention.
83AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:05
Re: #4 If you don't say anything, people bash you for it. Hi-STANDARD's like that too.
14AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:38
Feels like the kind of band Republicans would be into.
81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:05
Re: #14 Metallica? lol. Republicans listen to country, man lol
23AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:41
There was a guy who said, "In America it's totally normal for artists and actors to speak out politically — if you don't, people think you're the dumb one."
76AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:04
Re: #23 Making political statements is fine, the point is just don't do it at the concert.
32AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:46
Didn't Metallica's lyrics deal with war and stuff like that a lot? Feel like "One" was that kind of song.
37AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:49
Re: #32 "One" isn't about war, it's just based on a movie. A lot of Metallica's lyrics are lifted from Lovecraft and horror novels. So they look deep but are actually pretty juvenile.
42AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:50
If you strip anti-war themes out of music, what's even left?
48AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:53
Re: #42 If anything, anti-war is the foreign, out-of-place element.
45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:51
Re: #40 So China's got it right after all then — no need to talk politics at all.
49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:53
Re: #45 It's just common sense to read the room (TPO — time, place, occasion). Nerds who rapid-fire talk at people without considering their feelings get hated on, whether they're anime otaku, train otaku, or politics otaku.
70AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:01
What's funny is Massive Attack played this year's… Summer Sonic in Japan, was it? And at that show they did this big pro-Palestine, anti-Israel staging, slamming Israel. Well, the reaction from the Japanese crowd was terrible. Just awful, from the Japanese side. "We didn't come here for politics, just play the music" — that was the vibe. Japanese fans reacted the total opposite of foreign audiences. So in Japan, doing nothing, saying nothing about politics, is treated as the righteous move. That's how it is here. In other countries it's the reverse — if you stay silent you get branded a coward. That's the cultural gap right there.
86AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
Re: #75 Oh yeah, that Massive Attack thing — the reputation was absolutely terrible. Just terrible. Among Japanese fans. At Summer Sonic, that whole thing they pulled. From what I saw it was basically 100% criticism. Like "that's so uncool," that kind of reaction. That's how Japanese fans responded. So yeah, 75, you really can't talk politics with Japanese music fans. But overseas it's the opposite — the people trying to silence talk about Israel are the ones who get torn apart. So it's the reverse of Japanese values. In Japan there's this unwritten rule that musicians, artists, celebrities too, just aren't supposed to talk politics.
82AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:05
Re: #76 It's their own show, they can do or say whatever they want. That's what freedom of speech is.
92AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
Re: #82 In the end it comes down to whether you see a live show as "a place to entertain the audience" or "a place to push your own views." I'm not ranking one above the other, but since most people are there as the audience, of course they'll prefer the artists who are trying to entertain them.
90AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
The late Malcolm Young: "The most important thing is the groove. I'd never do what Metallica does (bringing in orchestras and strings on stage)."
102AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:13
Re: #90 But cannons are fine, huh? lol. Heard that at a past Japan show a song got cut because they couldn't use the cannons.
93AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:09
You just want to forget about everyday life and go listen to your favorite artist's songs, and then because they didn't say anything about Gaza or whatever, the show gets dragged on X and turned into a whole controversy, sponsors start pulling out… I think the world right now is scary.
99AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:12
Re: #93 No no, that's not it. Basically, the person who spoke up about Gaza got dropped — that British guy. There was an opening act who brought up Gaza, and once he got dropped, his own band members said they'd walk too in solidarity, so they left. Ended up unable to tour as planned, had to do it solo. That's the guy you're thinking of.
101AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:12
Re: #93 In the 1970s John Lennon was deep into the peace movement and feminism, and used his music as a vehicle for both. The FBI genuinely put him on a serious watch list, and there was real internal debate over whether to bar him from entering the US. Nothing's changed, then or now.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The thread split over whether skipping political talk at shows counts as “restraint” or as “peer pressure to conform.” Cultural differences factored in too — posters pointed to a case where a foreign artist faced fierce backlash from Japanese fans after criticizing Israel during a Japan tour stop, and to how John Lennon’s anti-war activism put him on the FBI’s watch list back in the 1970s. Meanwhile, comment #37 claims “One” is based on a movie rather than war — but that’s a common misconception, since the source material is actually “Johnny Got His Gun,” an anti-war novel that predates Vietnam-era conscription, making it a war-themed work after all. Metallica’s own songs have likewise been used in military operations before, highlighting just how consistently tricky it is for artists to navigate their distance from politics.
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